Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems (Mit Press)

A scholarly work relatively free of advocacy, except for advocating sticking to the facts. You will find more pages meticulously diagnosing the history of the energetics of agriculture, transportation and steel making than you will pages forecasting what future energy trends will be, or should be. The author reviews the history of some of these forecast attempts. Here is a sample from page 358: "Reasons for the large number of wrong forecasts can be found in the herdlike behavior of forecasters smitten by prevailing moods". "The U.S. Atomic Energy commission's 1974 forecast had 260 GW installed in the United States by 1985, and 1.2 TW in 2000. The actual 2000 number was 81.5 GW, and there were no clear prospects for fusion." "The same adjectives used to extol nuclear generation - inexhaustible, cheap, nonpolluting - reappeared in glowing descriptions of renewable energetics published during the 1970s as the advocates of small-scale, decentralized energy production promised a new, morally superior millennium devoid of nuclear and fossil fuel sins." And on page 362: "...by the year 2000...new renewables contributed just 3.2 EJ, only one-tenth of Lovins's forecast."The author wants to avoid falling into Lovins's and the AEC's trap. Nevertheless, scientifically sound constraints on future activity are offered without hesitation, for example: the potential for hydroelectric development, the limits of photosynthesis and geothermal fluxes. But on page 384, the author perhaps becomes polemical: "The ultimate makeup of a new global energy system that may dominate in the second half of the twenty-first century will not resemble currently fashionable scenarios." Notice the choice of words: "will not" rather than "may not". Later on page 382: "I strongly believe that the key to managing future global energy needs is to break with the current expectation of unrestrained energy use in affluent societies." Whose expectation? I live in an affluent society and my energy use is not unrestrained and I don't expect it to be. I presume the sentence applies to other guys, who need to be broken.Well, let's not nitpick over that sentence. There is no scientific principle more productive than the principle of conservation of energy (my advocacy). There is no analysis of "how stuff works" with greater predictive power than that provided by a monitoring of the energy conversions. This book is a masterpiece by a honest scientist with enormous skill in organizing knowledge of energy.See MIT Press for a detailed preview inside the book.

I bought the book "blind", since MIT Press have not enabled "Look Inside". If you are in two minds about the book, here is the Table of Contents to help you make up your mind:1. The Universal Link: Energetics, Energy, and Power1.1 Evolution of Energetics: From Aristotle to Einstein1.2 Approaches to Understanding: Concepts, Variables, Units2. Planetary Energetics: Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere2.1 Sun: The Star and Its Radiation2.2 Energy Balance of the Earth: Radiation Fluxes2.3 Hydrophere and Atmosphere: thermal and Mass Fluxes2.4 Water and Air in Motion: Kinetic Fluxes2.5 Geoenergetics: Heat, Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, Earthquakes3. Photosynthesis: Bioenergetics of Primary Production3.1 Photosynthetic Pathways3.2 Global Primary Productivity3.3 Productivities of Ecosystems and Plants3.4 Phytomass Stores3.5 Autotrophic Scaling4. Heterotrophic Conversions: Consumer Bioenergetics4.1 Metabolic Capacities4.2 Ectotherms and Endotherms4.3 Locomotion4.4 Biomasses and Productivities4.5 Heterotrophs in Ecosystems5. Human Energetics: People as Simple Heterotrophs5.1 Energy Sources and Basal Metabolism5.2 Requirements and Uncertainties5.3 Thermoregulation5.4 Limits of Human Performance5.5 Gathering, Hunting, and Fishing6. Traditional Food Production: Humans as Solar Farmers6.1 Extensive Practices6.2 Permanent Cropping6.3 Muscles, Implements, Machines6.4 Cropping Intensification6.5 Traditional Agricultures7. Preindustrial Complexification: Prime Movers and Fuels in Traditional Societies7.1 Animal Power: Human and Animal Muscles7.2 Water and Wind: Wheels and Mills7.3 Phytomass Fuels and Metallurgy: Wood, Charcoal, Crop Residues7.4 Construction: Methods and Structures7.5 Transportation: Roads and Ships8. Fossil Fuels: Heat, Light, and Prime Movers8.1 Coals: The Earliest Modern Fuels8.2 Hydrocarbons: Crude Oils and Natural Gases8.3 From Extraction to Combustion: Modern Fossil Fuel Industries8.4 Mechanical Prime Movers: Engines and Turbines8.5 Fossil-Fueled Electricity: Generation and Transmission9. Fossil-Fueled Civilization: Patterns and Trends9.1 Fuels and Fossil-Fueled Electricity: Energy Production and Trade9.2 Nonfossil Contributions: Biomass and Primary Electricity9.3 Global Consumption Patterns: Growth and Inequality9.4 Qualitative Changes: Transitions and Efficiencies9.5 Energy Conservation: Gains and Rebounds10. Energy Costs: Valuations and Changes10.1 Energy Cost of Energy: Net Gains10.2 Basic Materials: from Concrete to Fertilizers10.3 Structures and Products: From Buildings to Computers10.4 Crops and Animal Foods: Subsidized Diets10.5 Modern Food System: Gains, Costs, Efficiencies11. Environmental Consequences: Metabolism of Fossil-Fueled Civilization11.1 Power Densities: Energy and Land11.2 Energy Conversions and Heat Rejection11.3 Energy and Water11.4 Energy and the Atmosphere11.5 Interference in Grand Biospheric Cycles12 Energetic Correlates: Complexities of High-Energy Civilization12.1 Energy and the Economy12.2 Energy and Value12.3 Energy and the Quality of Life12.4 Energy and War12.5 Energy and the Future13. Grand Patterns: Energetic and Other Essentials13.1 Energy in the Biosphere13.2 Energy and Civilization13.3 The Challenges AheadAppendix: Tables of...SI Units, multiple prefixes (kilo, giga, etc), common energy conversions, energy content of fuels, energy content of foodstuffs, energy flows:31 orders of magnitude, power of continuous phenomena,, power of ephemeral phenomena, efficiencies of common energy conversions, typical energy cost of common materials, global harvests, energy subsidies, and population densities, 1900-2000, table of natural, personal, and energy related risks, population and primary energy 1500-2005, Global Reserves, Resources, and Fluxes of Energies.Selected Abbreviations, Acronyms, and SymbolsName IndexSubject IndexNow, my review. How much energy does the Earth receive from the Sun every day? Why are humans able to live in environments ranging from very cold to very hot - a wider range than any other mammal? Could we run our civilization on biofuels, wind power, solar, or geothermal energy? Does extracting uranium from seawater to generate electricity cost more energy than it supplies? How much improvement can we expect in crop yields from genetic engineering? How efficient are compact fluorescent lamps versus incandescent bulbs or the new white LEDs? What was special about James Watt's steam engine?Professor Smil has made a thorough and wide-ranging survey of the knowledge we have accumulated about energy flows on the grand scale. Inside the book you can find the answers to some of these questions. But, more importantly, in this book you can find enough about the processes involved to be able to assess other people's answers. The book gives you the building blocks to create your own knowledge.On the negative side, tne book is marred by hundreds of small typos, and grammatical and formatting errors, for example "photovaltaic", "the France", "01.6". Sometimes the mistakes change the sense of what is being said: 1.6MJ per molecule is a whole different kind of energy to 1.6 MJ per mole - 6.02x10²³ molecules. Some diagrams have incorrect units - for example, in fig 3.11 a and b, the horizontal scales are log of body mass, and the vertical scales are log of growth rate and body length respectively. Once or twice, the text and diagrams appear to conflict. These are relatively minor irritations, though.The book could be improved by including sub-headings or marginal notes when there is a change of topic within a section. For example, section 4.3, Locomotion, compares swimming, flying, and running, and then discusses some details of each in turn. So it has four sub-sections. However, there is no marker in the text to indicate the change of sub-topic. The whole section is just an undifferentiated mass of text, equations, and diagrams.Never mind. I am satisfied with the book as it is, and I am sure I will be referring to it many times in the coming years.

Vaclav Smil does data collection and research combined with years of viewing globes confrontation with man from an economists viewpoint that is like no other. Conclusions are harsh, but realistic. Reading his books in sequence is the best way to understand the links and relevance of every piece.

This is a beautifully written/organized book. An inspiration.

BOUGHT THE BOOK COMPLETELY ON ACCIDENT!!

Es una excelente recopilación de datos para observar como ha sido la historia de la humanidad a través del uso de la energía.

La spedizione è veloce e prezzo del libro è molto conveniente, sono molto soddisfatto anche dell'imballaggio. Il libro è perfetto.